John 8:10-13

10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”

11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”

12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

13 The Pharisees therefore said to Him, “You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not true.”

“Go and Sin No More…I AM the Light of the World”

One by one, the adulterous woman’s accusers walked away after Jesus convicted their hearts of sin. They knew they hadn’t gone about this in the right way. They knew their motives were not pure. Their sin was just as bad as the woman’s sin that they had brought before Jesus. In verse 9, as the Pharisees and scribes walked away, Jesus was again bent over writing in the dirt. In verse 10, Jesus stood up and saw the woman alone, and asked her where her accusers were. “Has no one condemned you?” Jesus asked her. Jesus addressed her as “woman”, which was another word for “miss” or “ma’am” back during that time. If someone addressed us as “woman” today, we would probably take offense and think the person was being disrespectful, but that wasn’t the case back then. The woman replied, “No one, Lord.” And then Jesus says some powerful words that resonate with us today. I can picture Him saying this to me! Can you picture Him saying this to you? “Neither do I condemn you.” That, my sisters and friends, was/is hope…..for this woman…..for me…..for you, and for everyone! Jesus was God in the flesh. He had the power to forgive sins while He was on earth. This woman was guilty of sin, just as we all are. We know that God hates sin and cannot tolerate it. We know that there can be no sin in heaven. God would have no one in heaven with Him if He hadn’t sent Jesus to forgive our sins. Let that sink in. We are all in the same boat. Jesus is our Advocate…our Intercessor, who stands between God and us, and forgives us so that we will be acceptable to God. Jesus cleanses our filthy robes so that they will be white when we stand before God on judgment day. 1 John 2:1-2 says this, “My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.” 

Does this mean that we can willfully sin, and Jesus will forgive us no matter what? Do we have a free pass to sin? Let’s listen to Jesus’ next few words to the woman in verse 11. After He said, “Neither do I condemn you……”, He then spoke five profound words that so many today want to overlook. He said, “Go and sin no more.” That doesn’t sound like a free pass to me. He forgave her, but in the same breath told her not to be involved in sinful behavior anymore. Look back at 1 John 2:1. It says, “My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin.” John is basically saying, “You need to try your best not to commit sin.” And Jesus knows if we are truly trying to stay pure. In Romans 6:1, Paul is adamant about this very thing. “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should”… what? Walk however we want to walk? No…..we are to ”walk in newness of life.” Again, in Romans 6:15, Paul emphasizes this again by saying, “What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!” What Paul is saying is that we cannot use and abuse God’s grace. According to Titus 2:11-14, God’s grace should teach us or train us in how to live. Listen to the beauty of God’s grace in these verses, “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.” (Titus 2:11-14) Because of what God has done for me, I should make it my top priority to live the way God wants me. Jesus showed grace to this adulterous woman. Now, she is expected to live her life for Jesus, and “sin no more” to the very best of her ability. Who else did Jesus tell to “sin no more”? He told the man that He healed at the pool of Bethesda to “sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.” In my own words, Jesus is saying, “Do your best to sin no more, or the worst thing imaginable will happen to you. You will lose your soul for eternity.” And the man’s 38 years of sickness would seem like nothing compared to being lost for eternity. 

In verse 12, Jesus changes gears a bit and begins talking to the people again. It is odd that in verse 9, it says that Jesus was alone with the woman, but in verse 12, He is suddenly talking to a group of people again. This may be why this account of Jesus and the woman seems out of place. But it is all God’s Word, and that is all that matters to me. In verse 12, Jesus makes His second “I am” statement, “I am the light of the world”. The first “I am” statement was “I am the bread of life” in John 6:35. This “I am” statement that Jesus makes in verse 12 is symbolic in the same way that Jesus’ statement in John 7:37, where He says, “If anyone thirsts, let Him come to me and drink,” is symbolic.  The Feast of Tabernacles had the water ritual during the day to symbolize God’s provision of water to His people in the desert. At night, there was a lamp lighting ceremony that symbolized the pillar of fire that God led His people with at night when they were in the wilderness. This happened every night during the 8 days of the feast. Each night, the people would take torches to four huge candelabras in the temple court. The entire city was lit up each night as this ceremony went on. So, this leads Jesus, the Master Teacher, to make this statement, “I am the light of the world”. By calling Himself this, He is saying that He is God. Psalm 27:1 says, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?” Isaiah 60:19 says that, “the Lord will be your everlasting light”. Only God gives light. God created light on the first day of creation by simply speaking the words, “Let there be light”. And now Jesus of Nazareth is claiming that He is THE light! Next, He says, “He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” Here is the parallel. The Israelites needed God’s pillar of fire to see in the wilderness at night. If anyone had walked away from that pillar of fire and walked off into the darkness, they would have been lost. Each person had to stay within the light which God provided for them. Those people back then had the light of God as long as they walked in the path of light that God’s pillar of fire provided. If we follow Jesus, then we have His light within us. But we have to stay on the path of Jesus’ light. We can’t say we are followers of Jesus, but walk off into the darkness of sin whenever we feel the urge. Sometimes we have to fight to keep the light of Jesus within us. Satan will try his best to snuff it out. We can’t see clearly anything in life without the light of Jesus inside us. Everything about our view is distorted when we are in the darkness of the world. And… we can’t have it both ways. I can’t have the light of Jesus and still try to hang on to the sinful parts of the world. I can’t go back and forth between light and darkness. It just doesn’t work that way. 

In verse 13, the Pharisees continue to reject Jesus, saying that He is bearing witness of Himself, and His witness is not true. So basically, they are calling the Son of God a liar. They don’t want to accept Him, so they come up with a reason to discredit Him. In my own words, they are saying, “You are saying this about Yourself; we can’t know that any of it is true without more witnesses. You are your only witness.” What more do these people want? Jesus gave His witnesses in John 5:31-40. John the baptist was the first witness that He named. Then, he said that His “works” or miracles bore witness to who He was. Next, He said that God Himself bore witness to who He was. This happened when Jesus was baptized, and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in the form of a dove, and God said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17) And finally, the Old Testament Scriptures bore witness to who He was. Jesus had plenty of proof of who He was, but it didn’t matter because these Jewish leaders, Pharisees, and scribes had their minds made up. They were too prideful and stubborn to admit that they might be wrong about Jesus. Similarly, some people today have the same problem accepting God’s Word as truth. Jesus is the Word, and the Word is from God, and the Word is God (John 1:1). God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit-filled Word are equal and ONE. If we reject one part of God’s Word, then we are rejecting Jesus, and we are rejecting God. 

Questions for all of us from these verses: Am I staying in the light of Jesus? Or am I venturing off into the darkness at times? Am I trying to have it both ways? Am I willing to admit when I am wrong and humble myself before Jesus? Am I accepting everything in God’s Word as truth? 

God means for everyone to learn what the Bible teaches about being saved. It only takes an open heart for Jesus and a willingness to put away what we’ve been taught in the past, and truly read what God’s Word says for ourselves… and then accept what it says and obey it. If I can help you in any way, I would love to! Are you walking in the light? Are you in Christ? Are you saved? If you aren’t, or if you’re not sure if you are, I’d love to help you. Are you a member of the Lord’s church, but are struggling spiritually in your walk with Christ? If you are… believe me, I’ve been there many times, and I’d love to help you. If you have any questions, please reach out. 

I love God’s Word. It challenges me to be better… to do more in His service. It is interesting and keeps me on the edge of my seat, wondering what will happen next. It gives me confidence and builds me up, and it brings me to my knees when my soul needs convicting! Thank you, Father, for the wonderful gift of Your Word!

God’s Plan of Salvation

Below is the plan God has outlined in His Word for humankind to receive His grace, which leads to salvation and an eternity with God in heaven. This plan is straight from the Bible. 

We have to hear His word. (Romans 10:17) 

Upon hearing the message of Jesus, we believe it. (Mark 16:16) 

Then, we confess Jesus’ name before men. (Matthew 10:32) 

Next, we repent of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19) 

Finally, we are baptized into Christ for the remission of our sins.  (Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-4, Acts 22:16, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26-27) After baptism, God adds us to His church. (Acts 2:47)